Minnesota Nurses Association members vote to ratify new contracts
MINNEAPOLIS -- Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association have voted to ratify new three-year contracts with their hospitals.
The deals include new language to address staffing shortages and increase wages, the union said.
More than 15,000 nurses cast their votes on the deals on Friday and Tuesday.
The nurses, who work at hospitals across the state, agreed to hold off on a second strike because of the tentative agreements. Their first strike lasted three days in September.
Nurse union issues statement: "Nurses won a new voice in the process"
The Minnesota Nurses Association issued the following statement upon the vote of 15,000 nurses to ratify new contracts:
"With these contracts, the staffing levels set by our hospital executives will never get worse than they are today, as nurses won a new voice in the process and better protections to appeal for the safe staffing levels we need," said Mary C. Turner, RN at North Memorial Hospital and President of the Minnesota Nurses Association. "This is a historic victory for nurses and patients at the bedside, but our work is not done. Nurses will continue fighting to oppose the corporate healthcare policies that threaten our hospital systems and the care our patients deserve."